


i know your eyes

by sepsner



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mixed POV, PINING KEITH, Reality Show AU, Sheith Big Bang, Sheith Big Bang 2018, background pidge/allura, banter between unknown narrators, everybody's pining, messy tags sorry not sorry, pining shiro, super fluff with a bit of gay depressed bastard keith mixed in, terrace house au, very very minor matt/lotor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 17:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15823356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sepsner/pseuds/sepsner
Summary: “Good evening! Terrace House is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”Shiro and Keith didn't expect to find love when they applied for the reality show Terrace House. When the opportunity arose, it didn't come so easily. Thankfully, through the support of the other housemates, these two might have a chance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for the Sheith Big Bang 2018! I worked with two wonderful artists, whose artwork you should definitely go and check out! Thanks everyone for hosting and participating in the event!
> 
> 1\. https://bee-boh-bees.tumblr.com/post/177482001463/here-are-my-pieces-for-twunkadelias-adorable-fic  
> 2\. http://that-meiko-girl.tumblr.com/post/177483273696/my-contribution-for-sepsners-sheithbigbang-fic

_“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week… oh, Lotor and Matt left.”_  
 _“Yes! After only living with each other for five weeks, Matt told Lotor he wanted to be serious.”_  
 _“And Lotor seemed hesitant at first… especially after asking Allura out.”_  
 _“Ah, yes, she was asked out by Lance as well, wasn’t she?”_  
 _“Pidge was asked out by Shiro… but he also invited Matt.”_  
 _“That’s not a romantic date, is it? Going to a theme park with your brother and his friend?”_  
 _“And a new member came. Hunk Garrett.”_  
 _“Ah, hunky Hunk. Lance’s surprise childhood friend.”_  
 _“They hadn’t seen each other for five years! It’s wild!”_  
 _“The new member… we haven’t seen him yet, but, Shiro hasn’t seemed too interested in anyone so far, so maybe he’ll change everything?”  
“Will he steal Shiro’s heart?”_

 

This guy had stolen Shiro’s heart. Allura had led him into the living area, and Shiro was immediately transfixed. The new guy stood as tall as Allura, with a composed expression and eyes that could have been purple. His hair, Shiro thought, looked incredibly soft, and there was nothing Shiro wanted to do more in that moment than run his fingers through it, almost down to his shoulders.

The new guy bowed his head. “I’m Keith Kogane.”

Keith was invited to the table, and the housemates welcomed him with the usual questions. Most of them came from Lance, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips. Would Shiro have to fight for this guy’s attention?

“So,” Lance started, “How old are you?”

“Nineteen. I’m turning twenty this October.” Keith had an accent, and Shiro couldn’t place it.

“Where are you from?” Lance asked, and Shiro perked up.

“I’m from Texas. My dad raised me there, but my mom is from Japan. I recently moved here.”

Pidge interrupted Lance to ask, “So what are you doing?”

Keith glanced at her. “I’m a mechanic right now. I’d like to be an engineer, but I dropped out of high school and--”

“Are you single?” Shiro blurted, only realising he had said it after the fact.

Keith leaned backwards slightly, eyebrows raised. “Um… yeah.”

Allura leaned over the table, rescuing Shiro from the burning fire in his cheeks. “And what’s your type?”

“Well,” Keith looked down and started fiddling with the zipper on his jacket, “I’ve never been in a serious, long-term relationship before. I guess someone who encourages me, but stops me when I’m doing something stupid. I guess…” He paused, and Shiro couldn’t help but stare, finding him incredibly cute in thought. “I guess I need someone I feel comfortable opening up to emotionally.”

“Do you like men?” Shiro blurted again, then buried his face in his hands.

Keith looked shocked again for a moment, and Shiro could feel everyone’s eyes on him. Shame, shame, shame… Until Shiro heard the sweet sound of Keith laughing.

“Yeah. I’m gay.”

Shiro’s heart thudded in his chest as he peeked from his hands. Fuck, he was useless. Hopeless. Smitten. And, since Keith was laughing, he might have a chance.

Shiro kept quiet through the rest of the conversation, watching Keith’s lips as they moved, looking at his eyes. They _were_ purple, Shiro noticed. Contacts? He had never met anyone with purple eyes before. But, he had never met anyone so pretty before, either.

“Earth to Shiro,” Pidge suddenly said, jabbing Shiro’s flesh arm. “Does that sound good?”

Aw, hell. Whilst Shiro was watching Keith, he had completely zoned out and missed the whole conversation.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Hopefully, _hopefully_ , he wasn’t agreeing to anything bad.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. Shiro had realised pretty quickly what everyone was planning. They had decided on holding a barbeque in the garden to celebrate Keith and Hunk’s arrival. Allura, Pidge, Hunk and Keith were going to the store, while Shiro and Lance were left behind to move the furniture around the garden to better suit the party. Keith wasn’t even here for an hour, and he was already gone.

Shiro was minding his own business, taking the job of lifting the heavier things, but before he knew it, Lance was behind him. “Dude,” he chimed, making Shiro jump, “you look like you just got kicked. You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Shiro responded, puzzled. “Why-”

“It’s the new guy, isn’t it?” Lance suddenly moved into Shiro’s space. “You’re upset you couldn’t go shopping with Keith.”

Shiro blinked and opened his mouth ready to argue, but when Shiro thought about it - crap. Lance was right. How was he so good at noticing this shit?

Still, he wasn’t going to admit it so easily. “Aw, shush, Lance.”

“That’s a yes,” Lance snorted, looking smug. He reached up to put his elbow on Shiro’s shoulder. “So what part did he hook you at? The mechanic stuff?”

Shiro sighed. There was no point in fighting Lance when he was like this. “When he walked in,” he grumbled.

“Wow,” Lance hummed, “that’s impressive. Yeah, I guess he’s cute enough for someone to fall in love at first--”

“In love?” Shiro choked, “I never said--”

Lance laughed, lightly slapping Shiro’s back. “I was teasing you, dude! But now I know you’re interested.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes, glaring a little. “You better not-”

“Nah,” Lance shook his head. “This is between you and me.”

Shiro nodded. “Good.”

“And Hunk.”

“ _Lance_.”

“Dude!” Lance laughed. “You know I’m kidding.”

Shiro shrugged Lance off. He wasn’t sure how to deal with someone so… well, with someone so Lance. He headed back into the house to take plates and cutlery. When he brought them outside, Lance was draped across the table near the barbeque.

“You’re asking him on a date,” Lance cooed, “right?”

Shiro almost dropped his plates. Lance snorted and swung his legs over the side of the table.

“You deserve it, Shiro. The only date you’ve been on was taking Matt and Pidge to the theme park, and that wasn’t anything. I’ll be your wingman.”

Sighing, Shiro put the plates down beside Lance. “Fine, Lance. You can do whatever you want. I just…” He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, thinking about how Keith had looked over the table earlier, sparkling eyes and hair that looked so soft to touch, a small and sweet smile… There was no way Shiro would be able to talk to him, one on one. “I don’t know how I would ask him out.”

Lance slinked his arm around Shiro’s shoulders, and Shiro considered brushing him off. “It’s easy, dude,” Lance started. “Especially when you’re as good looking as… well, as you. You gotta put on some of the McClain charm.”

Lance shot Shiro a cheeky grin, then winked. “Some of that, some of this…” He ran his fingers through his hair, tilting his head back to show off his neck. “And a little bit of _know what my shirt is made of? Boyfriend material_ , and you’re all good. Then a little bit of _why don’t we hang out sometime, princess?_ , and bam, you’ve got a date.”

Shiro raised his eyebrow. “So how many times have you used this technique?”

“Oh, all the time, dude.”

“How many dates have you gone on in the past year?”

Lance pushed away, patting Shiro on the shoulder. “What a convenience, I think I hear the car pulling up. Good talk, buddy.”

 

* * *

 

The barbeque turned out to be a great idea. It was a clear and warm night, and Hunk was more than willing to use the grill. Shiro overheard he and Lance talking, leaning over and running his hand through his hair, a cheeky grin on his face. Shiro smiled to himself. Now he had dirt on Lance.

Allura, Pidge and Keith were sitting to themselves around the outside table, talking about something related to star signs. It seemed that everyone in the house, by some stroke of luck, was interested in space in some way. Shiro tried wiggling into the conversation, taking the spare seat on Keith’s left.

Shiro caught Keith huffing, “I just don’t know how stars would dictate your personality.”

“Shiro,” Allura turned to him, thankfully pulling him into the conversation. “Pidge and Keith don’t agree with me. Don’t you think star signs hold some importance?”

“Well,” Shiro hummed, “they’re fun to indulge in, so there’s no harm in believing in them.”

“So what sign are you?” Keith asked, leaning back to get a better look at him.

“Pisces,” Shiro responded, turning towards Keith. Maybe he was cutting the other two from the conversation, but that was kind of his intention. Shiro didn’t really want an audience for what would likely be a massive flop. “What about you?”

“Uh,” Keith thought briefly. “Scorpio, I think.”

“I would’ve guessed Aries,” Shiro laughed, leaning closer. “You know, Scorpio and Pisces are pretty compatible.”

“Pidge,” Allura muttered, “come with me for a second.”

Shiro gave a short sigh of relief as the girls left, and Keith swivelled in his seat to face Shiro. “Are they? I don’t know anything about astrology.”

“Then maybe I can tell you more,” Shiro perched his chin on his hand, looking at Keith through lidded eyes, his heart going crazy, “if we hang out sometime?”

Keith shifted in his seat, and Shiro was worried that he had said something wrong. What if Keith didn’t want to go on a date at all? “Just us?” Keith asked, “Or as a group?”

“Oh, with everyone,” Shiro blurted. If Keith seemed uncomfortable, he obviously didn’t want to go on a date, right?

To Shiro’s relief, Keith gave a warm smile. “Sure. We can talk more when we all hang out.”

Shiro nodded and excused himself, going back into the house for a moment of peace. What an idiot! All he had to do was say that it was a date, and it would have worked out fine. But, of course, he had to go and panic around the cute boy - ugh, story of his life.

The rest of the night went by, Shiro avoiding Keith as much as possible from sheer shame. Tomorrow, he figured, would be a better day. _Then_ he would ask Keith on a date.

At least, he could hope to.


	2. Chapter 2

****_ “Good evening! _ Terrace House _ is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”  
_ _ “Right! So last week… ah, Keith turned up.”  
_ _ “Keith Kogane. He has a beautiful name.”  
_ _ “He’s got a beautiful face, as well. I think someone’s already fallen in love.”  
_ _ “Love? Don’t you think it’s infatuation? Lust?”  
_ _ “Does Shiro look like the kind of man who can experience lust?”  
_ _ “What? Of course! He looks downright horny!”  
_ _ “He looks super cool, like he’s experienced, but he can’t even ask Keith on a date.”  
_ _ “Well, on behalf of all the super cool dudes out there…”  
_ __ “Super cool dudes? Where? Are you trying to talk about yourself?”

 

Keith hadn’t even been in the house for a week, and Lance was already hitting on him. At least, he was pretty sure that Lance was hitting on him. It was kind of hard to tell. Lance liked to ramble.

After fifteen minutes of talking, Lance finally said, “so, you like coffee, right?” Oh, maybe he was getting somewhere. “Do you wanna go out for coffee somewhere? With me? Like a date?”

Keith had to bite his cheek to hold back a sigh of relief. Lance finally made his damn point, and wouldn’t have to hear about Marco making Lance eat dog turd for a prank anymore. In fact, Keith was so relieved that he almost missed Lance’s point entirely - a  _ date _ . Really?

Keith scratched the back of his neck. Well… nothing really suggested that Lance was a shitty person or anything. Plus, Keith figured, he was pretty cute. And sometimes, he was funny. Why not? “Sure. Oh, but, I’m lactose intolerant. Don’t take me anywhere that doesn’t have soy milk.”

“Sure, dude,” Lance smiled to himself, leaning back in his chair. “I wouldn’t want you to shit yourself on our date. I’m not into that.”

Keith held his chin in his hand, leaning his elbow on the table. Why did Lance look so pleased with himself? All he did was ask Keith out, but now he was smiling and cracking jokes to himself. Was it a dare or something? Or did he legitimately like Keith? He opened his mouth to say something, ready to grill Lance about it, when Allura and Shiro interrupted.

“Good morning,” Allura smiled, putting her purse on the table. “Is everybody ready for the outing?”

Keith still thought the way Shiro asked him along was weird. Why would he take him away from the group to ask in private? Maybe Shiro took the time to ask everyone individually, make it more personal and involve everyone. Still… as Keith looked over Shiro, he kind of wished Shiro had asked him out on a more intimate date instead. Just them, doing whatever they wanted. Keith could only suppose that Shiro just didn’t like him like that. The only way Keith could change anything about that would be to ask him out and get to know him better.

As if on cue, Lance perked up. “I’m so ready! Keith and I are even gonna go on a date later!”

With Shiro in the room, Keith hadn’t particularly wanted Lance to blab. He shot Lance a glare in response, but as he did, Keith noticed Lance winking and grinning at Shiro.

Keith’s stomach sunk.

This really  _ was _ a dare, wasn’t it? The two of them making a sick bet, with Keith’s heart on the line. Fine. Keith could play along. He’d go on these dates, but he wouldn’t enjoy them. Then, maybe, they’d both leave him the hell alone.

Jerks.

Shiro sat on the table. “We’re just waiting on Katie, right?”

God, damn it. Shiro was a total jerk. A hot jerk. Before Keith knew it, his eyes were wandering, looking over Shiro’s arm. His eyes went to his prosthetic, stylised to obviously not look like flesh. Still, both of those arms were equally buff. Keith would love to run his hands over those arms and-- no. Shiro was a jerk. Jerk, jerk jerk.

Well, Keith could jerk  _ something _ .

“‘m here.” Keith’s thoughts were interrupted by a sleepy mumble as Pidge came into the room, her hair a complete mess.

“Is bedhead in style now?” Keith smirked, thankful for the distraction. Pidge flipped him off, and he laughed. Okay, maybe one person in this house wasn’t a jerk.

“Hunk’s at work,” Pidge said as she stretched. “I got a text from him like twenty minutes ago. It sucks, but he can’t risk missing a day during his first month there.”

“Shiro, Keith, Allura and Pidge,” Lance hummed, “and me. Hey! I can be a stand-in for Hunk!”

“You’ll just make the pretend Hunk say something stupid,” Shiro said, crossing his arms.

“Me?” Lance gasped. “Never! I would never! Would I, Hunk?”

Lance shifted in his seat and put on a deeper voice. “Nah, buddy, I would totally say stuff like ‘the secret in my secret spaghetti sauce is sock sweat’ of my own volition.”

“Let’s leave Lance behind,” Keith grumbled, standing up and leading the charge. Lance, protesting, trailed behind them, insisting that, hey, Hunk really would say that, c’mon, guys!

 

* * *

 

They had all decided on a restaurant the previous night - somewhere nearby and reasonably cheap. As Allura had expertly planned, they arrived early enough to get enough space for five people, pushing two of the tables together to make one. Keith sat between Allura and Pidge, with Lance and Shiro on the other side.

The food was fine, Keith figured. It wasn’t going to be stellar since it was so cheap, but it didn’t taste bad. But Keith wasn’t focusing on the food so much as he was focusing on the boys across from him. He’d look up and watch Lance, his fingers a little too long and slim for his hands.

But it was Shiro who really caught Keith’s attention. Every time Keith looked at him, something new caught his eye. At first, Keith figured that Shiro’s scar was central, but soon realised that it was longer across his right cheek. He had cut his fingernails recently. His left canine was a little crooked.

And every time Shiro caught Keith looking at him, Keith’s face went red.

“Keith!” Allura suddenly grabbed Keith’s arm, breaking his small bubble and pulling him from the seat. “Come to the bathroom with me,”

“But I’m-”

“Please.” Not a question. Slightly nervous, Keith followed Allura to the bathroom. It was gender neutral, to Keith’s pleasant surprise. Good. He wasn’t going to end up being hit by a purse.

Allura dragged Keith into a cubicle, his stomach in knots. What was she trying to do? She knew he was gay, right? She was way in his personal space, and a disgusting public toilet cubicle was never the best place to do  _ anything _ , but at least it was away from the cameras--

“Shiro,” Allura blurted, turning to face Keith. “I saw you staring at him. Do you have feelings for him?”

Keith took a moment to process what Allura was asking him. “I- I dunno, I think he and Lance are playing some game with me, and-”

“Sh sh sh,” Allura shook her head, pointing her finger to Keith’s lips. “I don’t think he’s playing games with you Keith.” She lightly patted Keith’s cheek, smiling. “He gives you such warm looks. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“If you say so,” Keith mumbled. “Well, if he’s serious, then I guess… I guess I’m interested. I’d wanna take him out.”

Allura gave a bright smile, bouncing on the spot. Keith had to take a step back, almost falling back onto the toilet. Was she like this with everyone? Well, he trusted her not to blab to someone like Lance.

“I liked him, too,” Allura started, “and then I found out he was gay. He turned me down when I asked him on a date. It was… well, I was sad, but you must recognise when some things don’t happen.” Allura took Keith’s hands in her own, squeezing gently. “I can help you. I’ve been living with him for longer, so I can give you tips about dates. I would, well… I would like to see him happy. And you, too.”

Keith had never felt so smothered in his life. She was so close, in his space, so  _ excited _ , like a high school girl who just made a gay best friend. Wait, this was basically what it was, wasn’t it?

“Okay,” Keith sighed, hoping they’d leave the stall sooner rather than later. “But can we talk about this later, where it doesn’t smell like piss?”

Now that it had been pointed out to him, Keith realised just how much he ended up staring at Shiro. Ugh. At this point, Keith figured he might as well just ask Shiro on a date. Somehow. Someday. The only pain was making sure Lance knew exactly where he stood during their date.

Which, as Keith discovered abruptly, was immediately after the group lunch.

Lance wrapped an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “C’mon, we can go grab our coffee now.”

“Wait-” Keith glanced at Shiro, not wanting to leave him yet. Lance had other plans.

“C’mon, Keith!” He started pulling Keith away from the group, calling over his shoulder. “See you guys at home later!”

Keith despaired as he was dragged away from Shiro, the opportunity to ask him on a date dissolving as he went. Shit. Well, at least Keith could let Lance down gently over coffee.

 

* * *

 

“Almond milk,” Lance hummed to himself, bringing over the tray. He only did the bare minimum, but, eh, at least he remembered. Lance pushed Keith’s coffee over to him and he took a sip - yeah, this was definitely almond milk. Keith leaned back in his chair, relaxing. Okay, how should he start a conversation? Oh, God. He didn’t talk to people enough anyway, but Lance was entirely different.

To Keith’s luck, Lance knew how to talk.

“How are you finding everyone?” Lance asked, his arm draped over the back of his chair, a sly look on his face. Keith wasn’t sure if he could trust that smile.

“Everyone’s been nice and warm and… receptive.”

Lance’s eyebrow raised, and Keith dreaded what that could mean.

“Anyone you’ve got your eye on? You know, you wanna spend more time with them? Dates? A little…” Lance wrapped his arms around nothing, closing his eyes and kissing the air. The dread in Keith’s stomach got heavier.

“I don’t-”

“Shut up.”

“Excuse me?”

Lance leaned back in his chair, and Keith wanted to punch his smug face. “I know you’re into someone,” Lance said, looking so proud of himself. “Someone you wanna hang out more with. You wanna spend more time with…  _ him _ .”

Keith’s stomach flipped. Lance figured it out - that Keith already had a pathetic crush on Shiro.

“Sorry, dude,” Lance shook his head, laughing. “I know you wanna hang out with me, and I know we’re on a date right now, and I’m super cool and handsome, but I’m just not interested in you like that.”

Keith’s face fell. “What.”

“You're nice, and you're cute, and don't worry. Anyone would want you. You're a sweet dude.” Lance shook his head, smiling. “I'm just not interested.”

“Sorry--” Keith leaned forwards, a grimace on his face, “you think I'm into you?

Lance laughed. “Well, why wouldn't you be?”

“I can think of lots of reasons!”

“Don’t worry,” Lance hummed, smirking. “I know I’m not the best looking guy in the house. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Like Shiro. He’s, like, the most handsome dude I’ve ever met.”

Keith bit his lip, his dread being replaced with jealousy.

“But, you know,” Lance continued, putting his chin in his hands and resting his elbows on the table, “Hunk’s really good looking too, right? Like, we used to be best friends, but I haven’t seen him in years. He’s gotten really handsome, right? And he’s so funny, and I bet he could pick me up. Like, I wouldn’t blame you if you were interested in him.”

Keith’s eyebrow raised, watching Lance look off to the distance. This date probably wasn’t going the way Lance had planned for it to go.

“Hunk, huh?” Keith got himself comfortable, figuring he wouldn’t be talking very much.

“Don’t you think he’s cute?” Lance asked, almost offended. “He was so big back then, too, but so soft, which I guess hasn’t changed at all. Like, I haven’t seen him in ages, but he’s still exactly the same. And that’s not a bad thing, you know? Hunk is so… well, he’s so Hunk. Like, he’s so warm and nice to everyone he meets. I don’t think the dude could ever hate anyone! He’s got such a… like, a powerful laugh, right from the bottom of his stomach, and it’s so infectious, and he’s so sweet and funny. He was always there when I needed him. Hell, I could have messaged him out of nowhere after twenty years of not speaking and he’d still answer, ready to help me. I just love him, you know? I really… I…”

Lance’s face fell, realisation dawning. He slammed his hands on the table, mouth open and gawking at Keith.

“Holy crow! I love Hunk! What do I  _ do _ ??”

Keith couldn’t hold back his smile. Lance had looked so blissed out when he talked about Hunk. Even if Lance hadn’t blurted it out, Keith would have figured out that Lance was in love with him. “You tell him, obviously. What if he likes you, too?”

Lance groaned and buried his head in his hands. “I can’t… oh, man. I think I’ve loved him for  _ years _ . Oh, no.”

“If you don’t tell him,” Keith bargained, “I will.”

“Don’t!” Lance yelped, suddenly sitting up. “Please! We were best friends, what if it’s, you know, weird?”

“He totally already thinks you’re weird.” Keith sipped his coffee, watching Lance despair over his newfound-years-old-feelings. “But I could put in a good word for you. Let him know I’m not interested in him. Maybe push him in your direction.”

Lance’s face lit up. “Seriously? That would be great--”

“In return,” Keith interrupted, “I want you to… um, well, if you would, you know…” He bit his lip, mulling over his words. “Tell Shiro that I…”

“Shiro!” Lance broke into a smile, as if he wasn’t having a panic just seconds ago. “You’re into Shiro! I knew it!”

“Shut up,” Keith hushed him. “Keep my secret, and I’ll keep yours.”

“Promise, dude,” Lance smiled, putting a hand to his chest. “But, really. You’re serious, right? ‘Cause I totally guessed it.”

“Shut  _ up _ ,” Keith laughed. “You didn’t guess anything!”

Lance chuckled, smug. Keith wasn’t sure if he had heard anyone chuckle before, but this was definitely it. “Your secret is safe with me. But, dude. This means we’re best friends now.”

“What? Best friends? With  _ you _ ?” Keith groaned. “This is the worst date I’ve ever been on.”


	3. Chapter 3

****_“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”  
_ _“Right! So last week… Lance and Keith went on a date.”  
_ _“But it turns out neither of them were into each other.”  
_ _“Right! Lance is in love with Hunk, who happens to be his childhood friend!”  
_ _“Isn't that romantic? Amazing!”  
_ _“What about Allura and Pidge?”  
_ _“Oh, maybe they'll start noticing each other more now?”  
_ _“That would be perfect. Perfect matchups.”  
_ _“Yeah, because Keith likes Shiro after all. We all thought--”  
_ _“Yeah, he seemed pretty distant from everyone, so we weren't sure if Keith would find romance.”  
_ _“You think they're gonna go on a date?”_  
 _“I hope so.”_

 

The best thing about the house, to Shiro, wasn’t the giant pool or the comfortable community area, though those had been a plus. No, what he was most excited over was the _garden_ . It was the smallest garden Shiro had ever had the joy of looking after, but it was something. None of the other housemates seemed too excited by it, so it was all his - he had free reign over this patch of rich soil, and he could grow whatever he wanted. He _would_ grow whatever he wanted. Shiro had happily taken up this small section of the house as his own personal space.

He was pulling weeds, one earbud hanging in his shirt and music gently playing, when he heard Lance and Keith return home. He poked his head through the way-too-fancy French doors to peek into the kitchen, catching a sight of Keith pouring himself a drink.

“Hey,” Shiro called out, making Keith’s head snap up like a confused meerkat, “did you have a fun date?”

Once Keith found where the voice was coming from, he headed over to the French doors. “I don’t think it _was_ a date by the end of it,” he snorted. Was Shiro misreading the scenario, or did Keith look a little embarrassed? “What are you doing out here?”

“Hm?” Shiro had almost forgotten that he was out here in thick gloves and dirt-stained jeans. “Oh, I was just gardening.”

Keith perked up. “You’ve been the one looking after the garden?”

Shiro was used to people calling his hobby into question. It was always the same; people telling him that gardening didn’t fit his _personality_ (when what they meant was ‘appearance’), that surely he played sports or something instead. Now, it was a breath of fresh air to see Keith excited about it.

“You wanna see?”

“Yes, please.”

Keith left his drink inside and stepped out through the French doors before he froze. “Hold on,” Keith said, turning on his heel and heading back into the house in a hurry. Shiro was left confused, wondering if Keith had changed his mind because of Shiro somehow, until he came back with some equipment around his neck.

“A camera?” Shiro raised an eyebrow. “I never knew you liked photography.”

“I never knew you liked gardening,” Keith replied, a smirk on his face.

“Fair point.”

Shiro kneeled back in the dirt and could feel Keith’s third eye on him. The shutter clicked, and Shiro glanced over his shoulder. “Keep going,” Keith urged, almost hiding behind his camera. “Unless you don’t want…”

“It’s fine,” Shiro shrugged, “take as many as you want.”

He went back to the garden patch, and, after a few moments of silence, wondered if Keith had changed his mind about taking pictures. But soon enough, he heard the click of a camera lens again. Shiro’s face warmed up, thinking about how Keith must look behind the lens. He wanted to see what Keith saw; everything a potential photo opportunity, life as art. Or maybe it wasn’t that deep? Nah, Keith definitely seemed like the pretentious type.

He heard Keith moving, his clothes shifting. Shiro didn’t want to look over in case he ruined a good shot, but from the corner of his eye he caught Keith kneeling with him, leaning in with his camera. Shiro sucked on his lower lip, and Keith took a picture, Shiro’s heart beating a little faster, then another, Shiro’s breath catching in his throat-

“Is this an impromptu model shoot or something?” Shiro asked, glancing sideways at Keith from under his tuft of hair.

Keith took another picture, catching Shiro looking at him. “You look like you could be a model.” He froze, as if realising he had just said something embarrassing, but Shiro knew that Keith shouldn’t have been embarrassed. If anyone, Shiro should have been the one tripping over himself, after being complimented by someone so… so flawless.

“I was gonna take pictures of the flowers and stuff,” Keith mumbled, his camera lowering into his lap, “but then I got distracted.”

“I distracted you?”

Shiro turned his head, watching Keith’s cheeks go red. Shiro wanted to reach out and rush his hand against Keith’s face, feeling how warm his cheeks were when he was blushing, knowing Shiro had been the one to do this to him.

Keith stood suddenly and Shiro panicked, briefly wondering if Keith had just read his mind. But Keith didn’t run back inside, and instead stood over Shiro, fiddling with his camera.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh,” Keith hummed, “I’m looking at the shots. The ones from behind aren’t that good, but no one looks good when they’re hunched over. But the profile ones…” Shiro didn’t need to look up to know that Keith was still blushing. “Well. You wanna see them?”

Shiro glanced up. “Yeah. I wanna see all your pictures.”

“All of them?” Keith snorted, as if it was a ridiculous request.

“Yeah, I’m interested.”

Shiro had meant _interested in your hobby_ , but would have been perfectly fine if Keith misinterpreted his words - _interested in you_. For a moment, Keith had pulled an expression, and Shiro was certain Keith was about to say something. Instead, Keith just smiled down at him. “Sure. They’re all on my laptop. Come to my room.”

The house that the six of them had borrowed had three bedrooms, with two participants in each. Shiro shared a room with Hunk, and Keith slept in a bunk bed with Lance, as well as Allura and Pidge pairing up. Shiro had never been in the other two bedrooms, so when Keith led him to _his room_ for the first time, Shiro’s stomach was doing flips. No, nothing inappropriate was going to happen. But Keith and Shiro would still be sitting together on a bed, and that made Shiro’s heart pound a little too fast.

Keith and Shiro sat beside each other, leaning against the wall on the bottom bunk. Keith was fiddling with his laptop, and Shiro was trying not to look over until Keith was ready for him. Instead, he ran his eyes over the walls, lined with posters. Were they Keith’s or Lance’s? Most likely Lance’s, since he had stayed here for longer, but something in Shiro doubted that Lance would listen to some of the bands that took up space on the walls.

At the foot of the bed hung some printed photographs, pinned into the wood. Shiro wanted to lean over for a better look, but didn’t want to intrude. From the distance, the photos looked like a man and woman in their 20s; what Shiro could only assume to be Keith’s parents or siblings.

“Here,” Keith said, snapping Shiro out of his snooping.

Keith had turned the laptop towards Shiro. On the screen was a folder (named ‘Shiro’; obviously Keith had chosen specific pictures to show him) of thumbnails. Shiro leaned over and previewed a few. Flowers, cakes, cute dogs - Keith really liked sweet things. It was kind of surprising, considering how Keith dressed like he was the child of a 90’s grunge kid and a goth princess.

“These are cool,” Shiro smiled, clicking through more. “But, hey. No people?”

“Oh,” Keith laughed a little. “I always- I’m not a people person. Asking someone if I could take their picture would be the most anxiety inducing thing ever.”

“You took pictures of me, no problem.”

“You say that like my stomach wasn’t doing flips the whole time.” Keith laughed, clearly trying to play off his anxiety like a joke. His laugh was adorable, and Shiro couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, I like your pictures.” Shiro leaned back. “You can take photos of me whenever you want.”

Keith snorted. “Even when you’re fresh out of the shower?”

Shiro chewed on his lip. Keith wanting to take pictures of him in just a towel, all wet… and maybe he’d let Shiro do the same with him.

Snap out of it, Takashi. “As long as you warn me.”

Keith turned away, hiding in his hair. Was he embarrassed? Shiro couldn’t help but laugh - Keith was adorable.

“Hey, can you print a few of those out? Like, the dog ones especially. I miss my old dog.”

“Your dog?” Keith finally looked back at Shiro.

“Yeah,” he smiled, “her name was Momo. I had a hard time and she was my service dog. She was old, though…” Shiro closed his eyes, a bittersweet memory washing over him. Man, he still missed Momo.

Keith’s voice was quiet and gentle, as if he was making sure he didn’t startle Shiro from his thoughts. “Sure. I’ll give you the dogs.”

“Thanks, Keith.” Shiro was relieved that Keith hadn’t asked him why he had a service dog in the first place. Like hell was he going to dump something like that on Keith so soon. “I’m gonna go back to the garden, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you… at dinner?”

Keith brushed his hair out of his face, watching as Shiro stood from his bed. Shit, even something so small made Shiro’s heart skip a beat.

“See you at dinner, Keith.” If Shiro lasted that long without passing out from how cute Keith was, anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week… Pidge asked Allura on a date.”_  
 _“It was cute. I really hope their date works out.”_  
 _“But what will Pidge do? She's basically taking a princess on a date.”_  
 _“Meanwhile, Keith and Shiro spent some time together.”_  
 _“Keith took photos of Shiro while he was gardening.”_  
 _“Wasn't that creepy? Don't you think that was creepy?”_  
 _“No! It was cute!”_  
 _“It was so cute!”_  
 _“I don't get it. Keith is so creepy…”_

 

Keith had been trying to make himself a spicy lunch when Hunk had come in, still half asleep.

“How are your late shifts going, Hunk?”

Hunk yawned and shot Keith a dirty look. “Oh, they’re going great. Other than almost falling asleep on a souffle and completely ruining it.”

“Oops,” Keith replied, dumping chilli flakes in his curry mix.

“Buddy.” Hunk came closer, looking over Keith’s shoulder and rubbing his eyes. “What are you trying to make?”

“Curry?”

“Without cream?”

“Uh…” Keith looked at the dark sauce. Hunk was the chef here, so he was probably doing something wrong. “Yes?”

Hunk frowned. “No.”

Keith took a step back while Hunk tasted the sauce, pulled a face, then started taking things out of the cupboards and fridge. Yeah, he was definitely doing something wrong.

“What have you done so far?”

“Uh,” Keith tried to recall. “The onions first, then the tin of tomatoes, and spice…”

“Alright, so it’s not totally fucked up.” Hunk pulled on the arm of Keith’s jacket. “Come on, let me show you how to fix this.”

Hunk dumped some frozen vegetables into the mix and stirred. “It’s too spicy. It’ll mellow out when you eat it with rice, but it’ll still be nuclear. We’ll add some tomato puree to try and combat the spice.”

“Not sugar?” Keith asked.

“No. Tomatoes and dairy. That’s partially why you need the cream. Things can be spicy _and_ sweet, they don’t cancel each other out.”

Keith watched as Hunk worked, trying to take it all in. Hunk really was amazing when he cooked. “How long have you been cooking for?”

Hunk hummed as he stirred. “Well, years and years now. Since before I knew Lance. My mom taught me, and she learned from her mom. It’s the best cook book I know.” He set down his spoon and glanced over at Keith. “But I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

“What?” Keith asked hesitantly. Oh, god, was Hunk going to ask Keith on a date, too? Keith didn’t want to genuinely turn someone down, and he especially didn’t want to turn down Hunk. He seemed way too sweet to be turned down.

For a moment, it really seemed like Hunk was going to ask him out. He looked down, messing with the spoon. “I wanted to ask… I wanted to ask about you and Shiro.”

Keith felt every muscle in his body relax. “Me and Shiro?”

“Are you interested in him?” Hunk asked, grabbing the cream. “I mean, I see the way you look at each other. I’m not as good as Lance is at reading people, but I’m pretty sure those looks are a little too soft to just be between friends.”

Keith scratched his nose. “We’re not dating or-- well, Shiro didn’t ask me on a date. He asked me out, but he said it was for everyone, so I don’t think he likes me that much.”

Hunk pulled a face and hummed again, stirring slowly. “I don’t think so,” he finally said. “Shiro definitely looks like he has a crush on you.”

“There’s no way…”

“What about you?” Hunk stopped stirring and looked slightly serious. “How do you feel?”

Keith bit his lip. He wasn’t one to share his feelings like this, especially with someone he barely knew. But there was a warmth that radiated from Hunk, and… and, well, Keith needed a friend. Someone he could talk to these things about. Someone who wasn’t Lance.

Deep breath, Keith. Just trust someone for once.

“I like him.” Keith let out a shallow huff. “He’s handsome as hell, and he’s fun to talk to. He’s got a garden outside, did you know that? And he likes dogs. He’s… damn cute.”

“That’s sweet,” Hunk smiled, hands on his hips. “You have to ask him out.”

Keith choked. “What?”

“You heard me.” Hunk looked at Keith in a way that unnerved him. It wasn’t anger or annoyance, but some kind of expectation that Keith shouldn’t - _couldn’t_ \- break. It made him squirm, like Hunk was his mom or something, and there was no way he could say no. Not to those warm, brown, trusting eyes.

“I guess.” Keith groaned from the back of his throat. “I just don’t know how I’d do that. I’ve never asked anyone out before, so I… you used to date Lance, right?” Keith suddenly grabbed Hunk’s arms. “Help me, Hunk, I’m useless.”

Hunk seized up, most likely not expecting to be grabbed like that so suddenly, by Keith of all people. Keith pleaded at the bigger man with his eyes, wide and desperate.

Hunk sighed.

“I can only show you how I did it my way,” Hunk told Keith, sternly putting his hands on Keith’s shoulders and pushing him away. “Lance technically asked me out first. He used some pickup line, and I honestly didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. So we went around in circles until I asked _him_ out. Properly.”

“So…” Keith bit his lip. “I should just be upfront about it?”

“You seem like the kinda guy who’d benefit from laying all your cards on the table. You know, being clear with what you want so no one misreads the situation.”

Keith lowered his head. Hunk was right; Keith would much rather prefer coming out with a straightforward question and get a straightforward answer in response. But that would mean telling Shiro how much he liked him, and that he was interested, and that would make Keith way more vulnerable than he was prepared to be.

Keith looked up again. “I think I…” He wrung his fingers together and furrowed his brow. He took a sniff, then raised an eyebrow. “I think I smell burning?”

“What?” Hunk sniffed, then turned. “Aw, shit.”

The curry had lost most of its moisture, the meat and vegetables sizzling and burning. Keith tried to keep Hunk from freaking out while Hunk scraped the burnt remains of curry from the pan. Thankfully for Keith, the topic of Shiro was dropped. For now.


	5. Chapter 5

****_“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week… Pidge and Allura went on their date.”_  
 _“They took a hike! It was refreshing.”_  
 _“Who knew Allura would have gotten so excited about nature?”_  
 _“We saw a different side to her, and it was cute.”_  
 _“Lance and Hunk are still…”_  
 _“They're dancing around the subject.”_  
 _“Hunk and Keith cooked together and Hunk had said that Lance isn't good at being direct.”_  
 _“Yes, and he told Keith to be direct with Shiro.”_  
 _“They tried making curry…"_  
 _“The emotionally charged burnt curry.”_  
 _"Hopefully this doesn't- this isn't an omen.”_  
 _“Don't jinx it!”_

 

Finding a gym was a blessing for Shiro. He hadn’t been to a real, proper gym with a real, proper personal trainer program for years. Of course, none were as harsh as being in the forces, but Shiro didn’t think he was mentally ready for that kind of level of extreme fitness yet.

When Shiro came back home, he passed through the living area. Something caught his eye, and he walked back and peeked in. Keith was draped across the sofa, reading something. Shiro considered his options. He could have gone for a shower and gotten off all his sweat and grime. Or…

“Hey,” Shiro called as he sat on the parallel sofa. “Don’t mind me.”

“I’m not minding.” Keith glanced up from his book, and Shiro’s heart throbbed. How could one man look so pretty? It really wasn’t fair.

Shiro leaned forwards, trying to look at the front of the book. “What are you reading?”

Keith glanced at the title of the book. “ _The Virgin Suicides_.” Well, Shiro thought, it sounded pretentious enough to be something Keith read. “I got it from the library in town.”

“I don’t know where the library is.” Shiro liked reading, sure, but it took a lot of time, and there weren’t too many books that grabbed him.

“I could show you.” Keith slid a bookmark between the pages and closed the pretentious book. “We could go together. Look around town for a little while. Maybe get some lunch together, like a-” Keith paused and swallowed. Whatever he was asking was obviously hard to say. “Like a date?”

Shiro’s heart soared in his chest. Keith had clarified that it was a _date_ , and nothing could have made him happier.

Keith fiddled with the pages of his book, looking from Shiro to the floor. This was the first time Shiro had seen Keith be truly _nervous_ , and… well, it was adorable. Keith was adorable.

“Yeah,” Shiro replied, ending Keith’s misery. “Like a date. Sounds good.”

Keith looked up again, a smile spreading across his face. “Great! Good.” Aw, no, he was even cuter when he was flustered! “You free tomorrow?”

“I am,” Shiro replied, standing up. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah! Okay! See you then!”

Shiro left the room, composed, until he was out of Keith’s line of sight. Then he let himself explode. He couldn’t help himself, bouncing and running on the spot. He launched himself up the stairs, suddenly full of energy, and ran right into Allura.

“Oh,” Allura squeaked, “hello there!”

“Hello, Allura!” Shiro beamed, bouncing on his heels.

“Someone’s excited!”

“I was asked on a date!”

Allura gasped and grabbed Shiro’s hand. “Tell me about it _now_.”

She dragged Shiro to her room, encouraging him to sit on her bed as she took Pidge’s. Shiro recounted the living room interaction, smiling wide. Allura sat on the edge of the bed, completely engrossed.

“That’s adorable,” she eventually chimed in, “you’re both adorable. You need to get him a gift when you’re shopping, to show him how much you like him. Oh, but it _must_ be subtle and cheap. You wouldn’t want to spend too much money and ruin your chances.”

“But what?” Shiro chewed on his lip. “Chocolate?”

Allura shook her head. “No, no. Chocolate is too easy to get wrong. What if he prefers dark chocolate? What if he hates it? What if he’s allergic?”

Shiro hummed, thinking deeply. “So…”

“I like the food idea.” Allura put a finger to her chin. “Maybe fruits? Everybody likes fruits. Take him to the market, maybe. Choose out fruit together and have a makeshift fruit salad picnic.”

Shiro’s eyes lit up. “That’s amazing, Allura! Did you just think of that from the top of your head?”

“I was taken on a date like that before. It was wonderful. I’m sure Keith would enjoy it, too.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Allura.” Shiro stood up and took a deep breath. “I’m gonna finally take a shower. I can’t turn up to my date smelling like a jock strap.”

Just as excited as he was before, Shiro nearly skipped out of Allura’s room and to the bathroom. After planning a date with Keith, Shiro wasn’t sure if he could even sleep tonight.


	6. Chapter 6

_“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”  
_ _“Right! So last week… Keith and Shiro set up a date!”  
_ _“Yes! Hooray!”  
_ _"They’re going to the library. Is that really a date?”  
_ _“Keith told him it was a date! He took Hunk’s advice. Laid it all out on the table.”  
_ _“It seemed to work.”_  
_“Shush! I want to see how their date turns out!”_

 

Keith could barely sleep that night. He woke up to the sun shining through the gap in his curtains, birds singing. Keith could have sung with them from his excitement.

He found Shiro in the dining room, sitting at the table. After they had a quick drink and snack, the two of them took the rented car to the city.

After parking, Keith led Shiro to the library. As they rifled through books, Keith tried to strike up a conversation. “So, what’s your favourite genre?”

“Uh,” Shiro paused, staring at the books. Did Shiro even like reading? Oh, no, did Keith take Shiro to a library when Shiro didn’t even like books? “Well, I’ve read _Les Mis_ like three times.”

Keith couldn’t hold back his relieved sigh. “Neat. Usually I just read short stories. Mostly horror.”

“Oh, I can’t deal with that stuff.” Shiro shook his head.

“Then I’ll read them for you. Then you won’t have to.” Wait, was that, like, a soft boyfriend thing to say? Keith shook that idea from his mind. “Anyway, I found what I want. You good?”

“Yeah.” Shiro shot Keith a smile, tucking the book he checked out into his backpack. “Let’s go.”

The two of them walked aimlessly around town. Keith didn’t really have a plan beyond ‘lunch’, so when Shiro suggested they go to the market and grab some vegetables for dinner, Keith agreed. They might as well, while they were out. To Keith’s surprise, Shiro left momentarily, leaving Keith to buy vegetables alone. Well, it wasn’t exactly hard - potatoes, carrots, maybe a turnip - but it wasn’t what Keith had in mind for the day. This was meant to be a date, not errands.

Eventually, Shiro found Keith again. He seemed apologetic, but Keith couldn’t help but feel annoyed. They weren’t exactly short on time; why did Shiro have to leave him alone?

With Keith’s backpack weighed down with potatoes, they continued aimlessly wandering. Or, at least, Keith _thought_ they were aimlessly wandering. Shiro seemed to know just where he was going. Suspicious.

They ended up on a bench near a fountain. Keith let the spray hit his face, trying to calm his nerves. Did Shiro run away to text someone about how shitty Keith was as a date? Keith closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. Shiro wasn’t enjoying this at all.

“Keith?”

For a moment, Keith had almost forgotten that he was on a date. He swallowed and opened his eyes, looking over at Shiro.

“Yeah?”

Shiro frowned a little, and Keith’s heart ached. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Keith responded, shaking his head. “Just tired. Hungry.”

Shiro seemed to brighten up at the word ‘hungry’. “Hey, good news, then. When I ran off, I got you- well, both of us- a treat.” He zipped his bag open and pulled out two containers, opening one and handing it to Keith. “It’s lunch.”

Keith hesitantly took the container, inspecting it. “Fruit?”

“Yeah. I thought, maybe I’d get you a present like chocolate, but I don’t know if you even like chocolate…”

Listening to Shiro’s explanation made Keith give a warm smile. “I’m allergic. Plus, strawberries taste way better.”

Shiro laughed a little, then popped open his own container. “Then, I have great intuition!”

“I’m sure you didn’t think of this alone,” Keith smirked. He popped a grape into his mouth, tasting the crisp juice. Dang, the fruit from the market was good.

But even better than the grapes was the fact that Shiro didn’t super hate Keith. He didn’t leave because Keith was a bad date. In fact, he left because Keith… was a good date. He had to try not to smile to himself, instead gorging himself on a strawberry.

Shiro was the first one to break the fruity silence. “I had a great time today, Keith.”

“The date isn’t over yet,” Keith snorted. Hesitantly, he leaned against Shiro slightly, more of a shoulder touch than resting against him. “But, uh…” His heart raced at the sheer thought of asking Shiro for a second date. But he had to, he _wanted_ to. Badly. “I’d like it if this wasn’t the last date we had.”

“You wanna go on another date?” Shiro asked, amused.

“Don’t laugh at me,” Keith mumbled, smiling. “Yeah. I like you.”

From Keith’s position, he couldn’t see Shiro’s face, but he could bet that he was blushing. That was practically confirmed from Shiro’s mumbling. “Yeah. I like you too.”

He cleared his throat, and tried again. “I like you, too, Keith. I want to go on another date with you.”

Keith smiled so widely his face started to hurt. His smile didn’t leave the entire time they walked home, and the whole duration of prepping vegetables with Shiro. Hunk came in and asked what had put Keith in such a good news, and both Keith and Shiro giggled nervously.

Keith was far too excited for the date, and nothing could ruin the day.


	7. Chapter 7

****_I'm sorry for ruining the day._

Shiro re-read the messages on his phone. He and Keith had planned a second date, and after eagerly waiting for almost a week, Keith cancelled on him. Shiro thought he knew why. Keith had lost his job, and it had taken a heavy toll on him.

He could understand why Keith didn’t want to go on the date shortly after being fired. He could understand why Keith overslept the next day. He started having problems when Keith stopped sharing dinner with everyone in the dining room, and when Keith kept getting out of bed at 2pm.

“ _Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together…_ ”

Shiro sunk further into the couch. He was watching over the past episodes of the show that recently aired. The most recent one was Keith’s arrival. God, Shiro thought, it was so obvious that he was immediately lovestruck.

“ _I’m from Texas. My dad raised me there…_ ”

Shiro’s eyes flickered from the Keith on the screen to the figure moving into the room. Real Keith. Shiro glanced down at his phone. 2:45pm.

“Did you just wake up?” Shiro asked.

“Mhm,” Keith mumbled. A blanket was draped around his shoulders, and his hair was a mess. Shiro gave a frown.

“Keith. Have you eaten anything yet? When was the last time you showered?”

Keith curled up on the sofa. “I… no. I’m not hungry. Four days ago.”

Shiro paused the show and turned to Keith. “I know you’re having a bad time, but you need to look after yourself-”

With a groan, Keith pulled the blanket over his head. Shiro had to bite his tongue; what was he doing? Why was Keith being like this? It was… it was annoying! Shiro was getting outright annoyed!

“Keith! What’s your problem?”

The blanket moved as if Keith was shaking his head. “I just can’t do this right now. I know I’m not taking care of myself, okay?”

“Then why aren’t you changing anything?”

Shiro stared at the blanket, waiting for Keith to respond. Instead, Keith pulled the blanket away and stood up, swiftly leaving the room. With a frustrated sigh, Shiro leaned back against the couch. Whatever was happening with Keith, he wasn’t willing to talk about it. And that was only making things worse.

 

* * *

 

 _“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week…”_  
 _“Well, Keith and Shiro went on a date.”_  
 _“That was nice.”_  
 _“Oh, Hunk and Lance went on a date, too.”_  
 _“They did! Hunk finally asked Lance out. He was pretty blunt about it.”_  
 _“He had said, on a date. And Lance had to clarify three times that it was a date.”_  
 _“But now, Keith…”_  
 _“Keith is very upset. He lost his job.”_  
 _“He seemed to really like being a mechanic.”_  
_“He didn’t like it enough. He lost his job.”  
“Don’t be mean!”_

 

After the confrontation, Shiro suggested to everyone that they should have a house meeting. They all met around the dining room table. For the first time in about a week, Keith had joined the rest of the housemates at the table.

The atmosphere was heavy. Keith stared at the table while everyone else glanced at each other. His hair was damp from the shower that Allura had basically forced him to take before the meeting.

Sick of the silence, Shiro cleared his throat. “We all know why we’re here, right? Keith.”

Keith sinked a little further into his chair.

“Dude,” Lance chimed from the seat next to Keith, “you’re been kinda… emo. Like, all the time, rather than some of the time.”

“We just don’t want you to suffer alone,” Allura added. “Please talk to us, Keith.”

Keith leaned forwards, his forehead almost touching the table, and rubbed a hand against his eyes. He shook his head, and Shiro had the awful feeling that he was just going to walk off again. They couldn’t just ignore whatever Keith was going through.

“I’m sorry,” Keith mumbled. Shiro relaxed slightly. That was better than sitting in silence. Maybe they could finally get somewhere. “I haven’t had a depressive episode like this in years. Everything seemed to be going so well, and then…”

"And then... you lost your job?" Allura asked, trying to prompt Keith to speak more.  
  
"Yeah. And then I lost my job. And it felt like everything I was trying to do just kind of... didn't matter anymore, and I wasn’t good at anything I like doing. And that maybe I should-" He scratched the back of his neck, obviously trying not to say something clichéd, or too personal. At least, that's how it felt to Shiro.   
  
"Keith." Shiro leaned forward, concern on his face. "We're here for you if you need help. And it definitely sounds like you need some help."   
  
Keith leaned forwards, his head basically touching the table at this point. Shiro was still worried that he would end up bolting, but something told him that maybe Keith would stick around for at least a little longer. Like he wasn't done quite yet.   
  
"I know," Keith finally said. "I know I need help. And I know you can help me." Shiro wasn't sure if he was talking to him directly, or the rest of the house as a whole. Of course it was the house. Right? Stop being so conceited, Shiro.   
  
"What do you need, dude?" Lance asked, having sat and listened for the entire time Keith was talking. Shiro was surprised that Lance _could_ listen to Keith. It was a nice change.   
  
Keith shrugged. "I'm sorry. I don't know exactly. Not really." He lifted his head a little, and Shiro could finally see his face. He looked exhausted, as if all the time everyone thought Keith had spent sleeping was actually just wasted away, lying in bed and being kept awake. "I guess I need someone to wake me up and make me do things. That would be nice."   
  
"We can do that," Hunk chimed in. "I can wake you up when I go to work, bud. Then you'll be up early enough to, you know, do normal people things."   
  
"And I'll help you make breakfast and look for more jobs," Shiro offered. "There's always a support system here that you can reach out to."   
  
Keith smiled, possibly for the first time in weeks, and Shiro felt himself melt a little inside. He had missed his smile. "Thanks. All of you. Seriously. It might take me a little while, though."

"No one expects you to immediately get better," Allura chimed in. "We'll all help you, Keith."  
  
"Seriously," Keith mumbled, "I'm grateful. This is all just kind of overwhelming. I've never been helped like this before, so I..."   
  
"It's cool," Hunk said. "We just want you to be comfy."   
  
Keith leaned back and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I might- would you mind if I went and took a shower? I probably stink like hell."   
  
"Yeah, dude," Lance snorted, "I can smell you from over here. You smell like a jockstrap."   
  
"I won’t ask how you know what jockstrap smells like. Thanks." Keith stood up, glaring a little at Lance. He bowed his head slightly before stepping away from the table. "I can't show you how much I appreciate this."   
  
"You can show us by getting better," Pidge replied, smirking a little.   
  
Keith smiled at the table and retreated to head upstairs. Shiro pulled his own chair out. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I just have to do something."   
  
"Go for it, dude," Lance hummed, shooting Shiro a thumbs up in encouragement. Did he know Shiro was about to ask Keith on a date? Oh, probably. This was Lance, after all.   
  
Shiro chased after Keith, hoping to find him before he got naked. Not that he'd mind seeing Keith naked. Now just wasn't the time. Though, sex always made Shiro feel better-- no, _now wasn't the time_ .   
  
Keith stepped from his and Hunk's room, a towel draped over his arm. Oh, good, he was still in the clothes from the kitchen. "Keith!" Shiro called, almost jogging down the hallway.   
  
"Shiro?" Keith seemed puzzled, like he was asking _what do you want that you couldn't have said in the kitchen?_   
  
"You cancelled our date," Shiro started, fiddling with his fingers from nervousness. "So I was thinking, I was hoping, that maybe, if I pulled you out of bed and made sure you got ready on time, would you, um..."   
  
Keith put a hand on Shiro's arm, instantly calming his nerves. Shiro hadn't even realised he was nervous; Keith just got his heart going like no one else could. "I really want to go on a second date, and I really don't want to disappoint you again. So, yeah, duh. Please, force me to go on this date with you."   
  
Hearing that in any other situation would have been weird and creepy, but with Keith, in this very specific scenario? Shiro's heart jumped. "Good! I'll plan it for us this time!"   
  
Keith smiled, a smile Shiro hadn't seen in what felt like so long. "I'm looking forward to it." Keith turned and went into the bathroom, his towel slung over his shoulder, leaving Shiro wanting more of him.   
  
Shiro stood for a moment in the hallway, completely lovestruck, before realising he had to get busy. He had a date to plan.


	8. Chapter 8

****_"Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week… Keith was…”_  
 _“Bummed out.”_  
 _“Depressed! He said he hadn’t felt like this in years.”_  
 _“Imagine living with someone like that. Not even coming to dinner.”_  
 _“Well, everyone’s going to help him.”_  
 _“Help him come to dinner.”_  
 _“I’m sure Hunk will personally drag him from his ankles to make sure he eats dinner with everyone.”_

Light filtered from the window onto Keith’s back. It was warm, and in the morning light, Keith almost forgot about all his troubles. They came rushing back when Shiro pulled the blanket off from him.

“Morning!” Shiro chirped. Keith yelped and covered his eyes. “Oh, good. I was worried you slept naked.”

Keith, in his shirt and underwear, looked up at Shiro in pure terror. “What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“Seven _A.M_?” Keith groaned, pulling the pillow from under his head to over his eyes. The next thing he knew, his ankles were grabbed, and he was being dragged. “Hey! Oh my god!”

The pillow was thrown, and Shiro deflected it like he saw it coming. “Come on, get up and in the shower. Put something nice on. We’re gonna job hunt.”

“We’re gonna--” Keith squirmed from Shiro’s grasp and rolled onto his stomach, half in the boys’ room, his legs in the hallway. “I don’t want to-”

“I know,” Shiro said, and Keith felt Shiro’s hands slide under his armpits. Shiro pulled him upright. “But you have to.”

Keith’s head rolled and sagged. He was so tired, and he was just being manhandled like a doll. How could he look for a job when he felt this awful? Despite his silent protests, Shiro dragged him to the bathroom. He was really serious about this, huh?

Shiro put Keith down at the open door. “See you after a shower. I’m gonna go print your resume.”

“How did you get my…” Before Keith could finish the question, Shiro was gone. All Keith had left to do was shower, he guessed.

He came downstairs in clean, business casual clothes. The smartest outfit he had - a button up shirt and black jeans, with some very shiny shoes.

“You look great,” Shiro beamed at him from the printer. Keith felt his heart squirm in a vice just from that smile. “We’re gonna give out resumes everywhere, then we can go have some lunch. Deal?”

Keith nodded. Maybe things would be a little easier with Shiro in control. “Deal.”

The two of them took the smaller car into town and went to work. Keith could fix things up pretty well, so obviously they went to every tech and mechanics store in town. After that was retail, then restaurants. The two of them had left the house at 8:30am, and now it was approaching 1pm.

After handing a resume to a restaurant that Keith really didn’t want to work in, he leaned against the outside wall of the building, hand over his stomach. “I haven’t eaten all day,” he grumbled. God, he could feel his stomach eating itself.

Shiro took the resumes from Keith and shoved them in his backpack. “Then I’ll give you a reward for your hard work.” He held out a hand, and Keith’s eyes flickered from Shiro’s hand to his face, turning pink. “Let’s go on a date.”

“Now?” Keith said, eyes wide. “But I cancelled our last one--”

“So you’ve gotta make up for it.” Shiro wiggled his fingers, trying to encourage Keith to take his hand. After taking a deep breath, Keith took the plunge and grabbed Shiro’s hand, squeezing it tightly. Not wanting to let go.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

Beaming, Shiro pulled Keith to another restaurant. But this time, Keith wasn’t there to hand in a resume. They ate together, Shiro ordering something way too spicy and Keith laughing at just how cute he looked when he was red and panicked. For the first time in a while, Keith’s heart felt light. Nothing was weighing him down. It was him, and it was Shiro, and they were _finally_ on their second date.

But Shiro didn’t let it end at lunch. Keith was heading back to the car when the taller man grabbed his arm and started pulling him in the opposite direction.

“What are we doing?” Keith asked, a little worried. Was Shiro going to make him apply for more jobs? Keith was already exhausted.

“We’re on a date,” Shiro reminded him, moving his hand down Keith’s arm to hold his hand instead. Keith held his breath and turned pink. “Let’s go do date things.”

They walked around the shopping mall, hand in hand, theorising how they would look in certain clothes, trying things on, smelling candles and taking free samples. Keith pulled at Shiro’s shirt when he found something interesting.

“A photo booth?” Shiro asked. “I didn’t realise there was one here.”

Keith sheepishly glanced at Shiro. What if he thought this was a dumb idea? “You wanna do it?”

Shiro snorted. “Um, _duh_.”

The booth itself was small, and the only way the two of them could fit was by having Shiro perch himself on Keith’s lap. Not that Keith minded at all. “Cheese,” Keith chimed, smiling nicely alongside Shiro for the first _click_.

Just as the camera’s shutter clicked for a second time, Keith saw Shiro pulling a face, and his own reacted in surprise - _click_ . Oh. So Shiro was taking funny photos. Keith could do funny, too. He stuck his tongue out, threatening to lick Shiro’s face, as Shiro acted disgusted. _Click._

As Keith was thinking up what pose he should pull next, Shiro swivelled himself to face Keith. His hands took Keith’s cheeks, holding his head in place. Keith blurted, “what are you-” before Shiro dove in to press their lips together. Keith couldn’t hear the _click_ of the camera over the thudding of his heart in his ears.

Shiro had just kissed him.

Keith lingered in the photo booth as Shiro scooted out. Keith sat there, completely dumbfounded, his face bright red, fingers lightly touching his lips in disbelief.

 _Click_.

Aw, hell. The perfect moment of their kiss was caught forever on film, which was amazing - but it was also proof that Keith was an embarrassed, lovestruck fool.


	9. Chapter 9

****_“Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”_  
 _“Right! So last week…”_  
 _“Keith is out of his depressive slump!”_  
 _“Hooray!”_  
 _“He and Shiro went and handed out resumes and Shiro dragged him on a date.”_  
 _“It was silly and it was cute.”_  
 _“They kissed! We didn’t even know until later when Keith showed Pidge the photos they took in the picture booth!”_  
 _“And then- and then Lance told Hunk that he’s leaving.”_  
 _“And Hunk confessed for, apparently, the second time in their lives.”_  
 _“I really hope this was the hand of fate. Everyone was meant to come together here.”_

“Everyone? I wanna tell you guys something.”

Shiro looked up from his meal. Everyone was sitting in the dining room, sharing dinner, on Lance and Hunk’s request. Lance was standing up in his chair as Keith tugged at his pants leg, trying to urge him to get down.

“So, you guys are, like, so fun. You’re the coolest people I’ve met in a while. Even you, Keith. Don’t look at me like that!” Lance shook Keith from his leg.

“I just… you all know I’ve been getting more modelling offers and going on dates,” Lance shot Hunk a look, “and I don’t really have the time for dinners like this or going out with everyone else, and my heart is with Hunk, and… well, if I’m never here, and I’ve already found love, then I should give someone else a shot.”

Shiro dropped his spoon. “So you’re leaving?”

“Yeah.” Lance rubbed his hands together sheepishly. “I know it’s pretty sudden, but if I asked everyone about it first, I would have never left. I love you all. Except, you know. Not really. I love Hunk. But you’re all pretty great, too.”

Everyone gave a short laugh, along with words of encouragement for Lance to do his best. Hunk ended up cooking something from the menu in the restaurant he had been working at, and Shiro almost felt like he was eating out.

“This is so good,” he told Hunk, his mouth full.

Hunk gave Shiro a smile, then looked over at Lance, who was teasing Pidge with something on his phone. “Only the best for him,” Hunk hummed, and Shiro watched his smile settle into something much warmer and comforting. Shiro was taken aback. Was this what true love looked like? Did he smile like that for Keith? Would Keith ever smile like that for him?

Shiro gulped down the food, his stomach doing flips. He hadn’t stuck around long enough in the photo booth to actually see Keith’s reaction after the kiss. In fact, he had just hurried the both of them back home shortly after that. What if Keith didn’t want anything to do with him anymore?

The nerves settled in the bottom of his stomach and didn’t budge. They finished dinner, and as Lance and Allura were washing up, with Pidge and Hunk distracting them, Shiro put his hand on the small of Keith’s back.

“Hey?” Keith said, confused.

“Hey. Can we talk?”

Fear shot across Keith’s face. Aw, man, there were better ways for Shiro to put it. “Uh, sure.”

Shiro led the both of them to the play room. It was equipped with a TV, sofa, table and bean bags, big enough to hold all six of them, and possibly more. Shiro sat down on the beanbags, and Keith joined him.

For something to break the tension, Shiro put on the TV. Something that wouldn’t pull their attention, the volume low, but making sure there were no long, silent pauses.

There was a long, silent pause.

“Our date,” Shiro started. He cleared his throat. “On our date, you dragged us to take pictures.”

“Did you not want to?” Keith asked. Shiro glanced over, and Keith seemed to be worried to an extreme. “You could have said, I wouldn’t have forced you.”

“No! No,” Shiro shook his head. “I wanted to. It was just-- we didn’t really talk about… about me, you know.” Oh, spit it out, Shiro. “Me kissing you.”

“Oh,” Keith said. “Oh. Um…”

“I don’t want to make things weird,” Shiro said, making things weird.

Keith shook his head. “No, no. It’s not that. I just… What did you mean by it?”

Shiro leaned back a little, confused. What did he _mean_ by it? He meant that he liked Keith, obviously. That’s what kissing meant. But, watching Keith squirm a little, Shiro realised that might not have come across. Oh, he was an idiot.

“I meant that I wanted to kiss you,” Shiro said, putting his hand on Keith’s. “And I meant that I like you. A lot.”

“Really?” Keith looked up, his face flushed. Oh, man, Shiro could die right there and be happy. “I like you, too. I was hoping… kissing means a lot to me, so… so we should…” Shiro’s heart stopped. Was Keith going to kiss him again? Was Keith going to ask him out?

Allura and Hunk burst the door open, giddy. Shiro jumped, clutching at his chest. Holy shit. “Keith! Shiro!” Oh, no. They were drunk. Someone had gone out to get alcohol and had let everyone get drunk while Keith and Shiro were talking.

“Come hug Lance,” Allura sang, “he’s cryyyying.”

What a baby. Shiro squeezed Keith’s hand. “We should go say goodbye to Lance.”

Keith frowned at Shiro. His gaze dropped. “Go ahead. I’ll be there soon.”

There was something in Keith’s voice that begged _and take Allura and Hunk with you too, God, please._ “Okay. Take your time.” Shiro stood and herded the other two out of the room with him, the three of them heading into the living room. Lance was crying on an unimpressed Pidge.

“I can’t get drunk,” Pidge complained to Shiro, rubbing Lance’s back. “I’m underage! But everyone else is getting drunk! Please, _please_ stay sober with me, Shiro.”

Shiro laughed. “Sure thing. Can’t say the same for Keith, though.”

The night went on, and Keith joined the group. They all entertained and smothered Lance in love, most of the house falling asleep in the living room. Lance left. The house felt empty.

And the main problem - Keith was avoiding Shiro.

Well, he wasn’t. Shiro knew he wasn’t. When Shiro walked into a room, Keith didn’t leave or anything like that. But something felt distant between them; a big, unspoken problem.

  
And there was no one Shiro felt like he could talk _to_.


	10. Chapter 10

****_"Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”  
_ _“Right! So last week…”  
_ _“Lance left, and everyone was sad.”  
_ _“Hunk was really sad. They spent Lance’s last night together in the same room.”  
_ _“Do you think they did it?”  
_ _“I’m not dignifying you with a response.”  
_ _“Shiro and Keith looked like they were going to talk it out, but they were interrupted.”_  
 _“I wonder who’s going to come in now? Maybe they can be Shiro’s new best friend.”_  
 _“Forget that, I wanna know who’s leaving next!”_

Keith sat in Hunk’s restaurant, three plates in front of him. The building was empty, aside from Hunk cooking, and some other staff members bustling around. Keith hadn’t even finished the food on the first plate, and Hunk had delivered the third, a wide smile on his face. There was being proud of your work, and then there was this.

“I can’t eat another bite,” Keith groaned.

“I’m sorry,” Hunk shrugged, “but if I can’t get Lance for taste tests, I have to find _someone_ who will eat my new dishes.”

Keith held his stomach. “Why not Shiro?”

“Shiro’s obviously got a strict diet.” Hunk sat on the chair opposite Keith, pulling one of the plates towards him. He took a bite and scrunched his nose. “Not quite there yet…”

“Hunk.” Keith put his hands on the table. “I know that you could have done this when Lance was free, or invited Pidge or Allura, or ask one of the other staff to do this. Why did you call me?”

Hunk took another bite, humming. “Needs salt.”

“Hunk!”

With a sigh, Hunk leaned back, his arms crossed. “Okay, okay. You got me. I asked you for a reason.”

Hunk pushed the plate aside and leant over the table, his hands crossed. “I’m leaving the house.”

“What?” Keith leaned forwards suddenly. “Really?”

Hunk nodded. “I’m happy here, at the restaurant. I’m happy with Lance. There isn’t anything more I need from the house, you know?”

Keith leaned back again. “Well, congrats, man. I’m glad to hear everything is going well. But why aren’t you telling us all at once?”

“I wanna tell everyone individually. Plus,” Hunk hummed, pulling the plate back, “I wanna hear all about you and Shiro.”

Keith groaned.

“Hey,” Hunk laughed. “I just dropped a bomb on you, you gotta tell me something in return!”

“This is why you invited me out first, wasn’t it?” Keith sneered. Hunk only smiled. Oh, Keith thought, what a jerk. A friendly jerk, but still a jerk. “Okay, okay, fine. I kissed him.”

Hunk yelped, and Keith jumped in his chair, laughing. He told Hunk the whole story about their date, eventually building the appetite for more of Hunk’s food, mumbling between bites.

“But now,” Keith swallowed, “I don’t know what he wants.”

Propping his chin in his hand, Hunk was in thought. “Shiro probably doesn’t know what you want, either.”

“I know,” Keith whined, “but do I _have_ to say something?”

“If you don’t, and he doesn’t, then you’ll let whatever good thing both of you could have just go to waste.”

Keith groaned. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“Hunk,” one of the staff called from the kitchen, “it’s two.”

“Oh, thanks.” Hunk stood up. “Come on, we gotta get back home.”

Pidge and Allura had wanted to talk to everyone at four, so Hunk was pretty paranoid about making it back in time, even though it was only a half hour drive. Hunk and Keith bickered in the car over the date that Keith was - or wasn’t - going to take Shiro on to show him his feelings.

Of course, Keith and Hunk arrived home first. Keith gave Hunk a few “I told you we didn’t have to leave so early”s, but it gave them the chance to do a few dishes and make some food before the others turned up.

With Shiro, Hunk, Keith, Pidge and Allura all around the dining room table, the atmosphere was strange. Having an empty seat where Lance should have been was almost like missing a member of the family, and Keith was hesitant to admit that he kind of missed Lance. Okay. Missed Lance a lot.

Pidge talking, finally, broke the weird atmosphere.

“So, summer’s almost ending,” she explained, “and I know we’re a little way out from anywhere big and impressive, but Allura and I were in town, and we saw a poster-”

“For a summer festival!” Allura butted in, a wide and bright smile on her face. “And we should all go, together, and see if we can get Lance to come, too, and maybe Matt and Lotor, too!”

Keith’s heart skipped a beat, and he looked over at Shiro. They would pair up at this summer festival, right? That’s what people did when they went as groups, right? So he’d want to corner Shiro, and had a gut feeling that everyone would let him. No, expect him to. _Want_ him to. Keith took a deep breath, pressure on his chest. He knew Shiro liked him, but did he like him seriously enough to want to date? Was he serious enough off-camera? Were they even going to couple up like that? Keith was getting ahead of himself. They were going as a group.

But this would be a seriously good chance to ask Shiro to be his real, serious, first ever boyfriend.

“We should go,” Keith piped up. “It’ll be fun.”

“I didn’t know you liked fun,” Pidge snorted, leaning over the table.

Keith pouted, and Shiro laughed at him. _Fuck_ , Keith thought, his face turning red. Shiro was totally about to make fun of him.

“Well, if no one has any objections, I think Keith speaks for all of us.”

“Oh, great leader,” Hunk chanted, turning towards Keith and bending in his chair, “give us your guidance.”

Laughing a little, Keith cleared his throat and thrust his chest out. “I order that we are to go to the summer festival and see off Pidge and Allura.” He pounded his fist on the table.

“Was that meant to be a gavel? You’re not a judge.”

“Quiet, Pidge. Great Leader Kogane can have a gavel if he wants.”

Allura and Shiro laughed, distracted as Keith’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked it, then glanced over at Hunk, who was texting under the table. Keith rolled his eyes and opened the message - he didn’t want to, but Hunk would start glaring if he didn’t.

_u can totally ask shiro to hang out w u @ the festival!!!! :0 invite him on a date thing!!! watch fireworks!!! ask him out!!!!!1!_

Keith huffed. He sent back a quick text, _I’m thinking about it_ , before tucking his phone away. This was meant to be a fun and relaxing departing party for Allura and Pidge, but ‘fun and relaxing’ definitely weren’t on Keith’s agenda.

The summer festival was about to be serious business.


	11. Chapter 11

****_"Good evening!_ Terrace House _is a show about six strangers living together, and we observe how they interact. All that we’ve prepared is a beautiful home and automobile. There is no script at all.”  
_ _“Right! So last week… Allura and Pidge suggested they go to the summer festival.”  
_ _“Yeah, they’ve all been getting ready. We saw cute shots of Allura and Keith buying outfits together.”  
_ _“Allura’s very fashion conscious. Who knew she could make Keith look fashionable?”  
_ _“What’s that meant to mean?”  
_ _“Well, the grunge skateboarder look was left behind in the 90s…”  
_ _“Shiro, Hunk and Pidge were all rehearsing.”  
_ _“Right! Shiro was_ rehearsing _his speech to Keith!”  
_ _“And Lance is definitely coming.”  
_ _“Good! I’ve missed him.”  
_ _“... and so are Matt and Lotor.”  
_ _“Ugh.”  
_ _"Ugh?”  
_ _“Lotor.”_  
 _“Oh, shut up. He’s handsome. At least we’ll finally have something good to look at.”_

 

 

Shiro and Keith had managed to be split from the group. They hadn’t meant to, and had been actively trying to stay with everyone, but as they turned their backs to order food from a stall, they must have ran away. Shiro and Keith turned back around, and they were gone.

“Guess we’ll wander around,” Shiro shrugged, popping food into his mouth.

Taking Shiro’s initiative, Keith started walking, Shiro following close behind. “The stars are really clear here,” Keith mused, looking up at the sky. It was expansive, endless. Keith was tiny.

“They really are,” Shiro said, and Keith looked over his shoulder. Shiro was there, way closer than the stars, close enough to touch. So Keith touched him. He linked their fingers together, heart beating against his ribs. He was tiny, but so was Shiro. Who cared if galaxies and star systems were so much bigger than them? It wasn’t real, not really - Keith could never be able to wrap his head around it. But Shiro was real, and Keith could definitely wrap his hand around…

Poor choice of words.

Shiro crumpled the now empty paper tray that his food was in, tossing it into a garbage can as they walked by. “Look,” he nudged Keith, pointing at something in the distance. The string of lights flashed in a circle - a ferris wheel. “I bet we could see the stars way better from the top of that bad boy.”

“What about the others?” Keith asked, frowning.

“It’s not like we don’t have our phones with us,” Shiro smiled, lopsided and dorky.

Keith felt as if Shiro had been trying to hide that side of him when they first met, almost like he was ashamed that he could be silly - but it was endearing as hell. “Fine, alright. Let’s get on the big wheel.”

Shiro, exhibiting the strength of an excited eight year old (which was stronger than Keith ever thought it could be), pulled Keith to the ferris wheel. The line was short - Keith figured the only people going on this would be couples. Wait, did this mean Keith and Shiro _had_ coupled off after all? Keith barely had time to think about it before Shiro was urging him into the small compartment with him.

“I hope this doesn’t get stuck,” Keith laughed softly, sitting down. “It smells a little like pee.”

“There’s nothing more romantic,” Shiro smiled, then caught himself. “I was kidding. I don’t think pee is…”

Keith leaned back and laughed. There was nothing to feel anxious about, not when Shiro was this much of a dork.

The wheel creaked, Keith panicking for a moment, before it started moving. He glanced from the window, looking down at everyone on the ground. He found Hunk and Lance, sharing food together and leaning in to kiss. Sweet. There was Matt and Lotor - he didn’t know either of them that well, but from the way Matt was braiding Lotor’s hair, they looked pretty close. And finally, Allura and Pidge, lying on the grass together and holding hands.

While Keith watched his friends hook up, Shiro could only look at Keith. From this high up, the only lights were the reds and blues from other rides, framing Keith’s face in an otherworldly purple glow. His heart felt like it was about to beat up his throat, topple from his mouth and land in Keith’s lap. It was now or never, Shiro told himself. Deep breaths.

“Keith,” Shiro whispered, and Keith turned his head. “Will you…”

Keith panicked. Was Shiro stealing his thunder? His well planned out scenario was crumbling in front of his eyes as Shiro was the one asking Keith. No, no-- what if Shiro thought Keith didn’t like him as much because Keith wasn’t the one asking first? In a rush of adrenaline, Keith dropped from his seat to the small space between them, trying to balance on one knee as the cart swayed.

“Will you marry me?” Keith blurted, his face burning and palms sweaty.

Oh _no_.

The grave misreading of the atmosphere sunk in slowly, dread creeping up Keith’s spine in a cold shiver. Shiro could only look down in shock and confusion, and Keith swore he saw his life flash before his eyes.

The silence was interrupted by Shiro’s laughter.

“Marry you?” Shiro wiped his eyes, still laughing. He put his hands on Keith’s, urging Keith to look up at him, despite how much Keith wanted to sink into the floor. “I’ll marry you, but do you think we should date first?”

Keith blinked, taking a moment to let it sink in. But when it did, his mouth broke into a grin. “Yeah! I think we should!” He tried to stand up, hitting his head on the top of the cart and making it sway again. Shiro laughed again, urging Keith to sit down.

“So you’ll date me?”

“Of course!” Keith blurted, leaning so far forward his butt was barely on the seat. “I really like you, Shiro! I… I really like you, Takashi.”

Shiro’s heart thudded in his chest, his face heating up from just Keith saying his first name. “Good,” he sighed, “I like you too, Keith. I really like you.”

The cart reached the top of the ferris wheel, but neither of them were looking at the stars. Instead, their lips touched, galaxies exploding behind closed eyes. They both figured there was enough time for stargazing later. For now, the center of the universe was there, in their dingy cart.


End file.
